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Crashes linked to al-Qaeda
31/08/2004 13:09 - (SA)
Sochi - Russian President Vladimir Putin has linked the downing last week of two passenger airliners to al-Qaeda and said here on Tuesday this proved the presence of organised international terrorism on Russian soil.
"The fact that an international terrorist organisation linked to al-Qaeda took responsibility for the blowing up of two planes shows once again the link between destructive elements in Chechnya and international terrorism," Putin told reporters.
Putin, speaking after talks with French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, said Russia would continue to combat separatist forces in Chechnya.
But he added that Moscow was prepared "to continue dialogue with any forces interested in a political solution in Chechnya."
The Russian leader spoke as investigators continued efforts to confirm the identities and motives of two Chechen women suspected of having blown the planes up last week, killing all 90 people aboard both planes.
An Islamic group calling itself the Islambouli Brigades claimed responsibility for the downing of both planes, hailing it as a first strike to stop Moscow's fight against separatists in Chechnya.
"The Islambouli Brigades declare that our mujahedeen (fighters) have succeeded in hijacking two Russian planes," said the group in a statement posted on a website.
"The mujahedeens have succeeded despite the problems that they encountered at the beginning. There were five mujahedeen in each plane."
The attacks "will be followed by a series of operations aimed to back and assist our brothers in Chechnya and other regions suffering from Russia", the statement warned.
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